Aerial view of burning near the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Cambodia. During the dry season, hundreds of fires rage across the country, many started by loggers and farmers.

Aerial view of burning near the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Cambodia. During the dry season, hundreds of fires rage across the country, many started by loggers and farmers.

Photo Essay

Turning the Tide on the Relentless Destruction of Cambodia’s Forests

Photographer Sean Gallagher traveled to Cambodia to document the devastation of that nation’s forests. In an e360 photo essay, he shows how timber and agribusiness companies are ravaging lands that are supposedly protected and how Indigenous people are trying to stop the destruction.

A member of the Prey Lang Community Rangers alongside a truck hauling timber from a protected forest area. Rangers do not have the authority to confiscate illegally harvested logs, but they monitor and report on such activity.

A member of the Prey Lang Community Rangers alongside a truck hauling timber from a protected forest area. Rangers do not have the authority to confiscate illegally harvested logs, but they monitor and report on such activity.

A freshly cut tree near the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Cambodia. The Southeast Asian nation has one of the fastest rates of deforestation in the world. Forest clearance is fueled by demand for agricultural land and high-value tree species for the Asian furniture market.

A freshly cut tree near the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Cambodia. The Southeast Asian nation has one of the fastest rates of deforestation in the world. Forest clearance is fueled by demand for agricultural land and high-value tree species for the Asian furniture market.

A Cambodian environmental ranger on patrol looking for illegal loggers in the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok sanctuary. Some rangers hide their identity out of fear of reprisals from loggers and their allies in the police and military.

A Cambodian environmental ranger on patrol looking for illegal loggers in the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok sanctuary. Some rangers hide their identity out of fear of reprisals from loggers and their allies in the police and military.

Aerial view of cut trees in the Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary.

Aerial view of cut trees in the Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary.

Members of the Prey Lang Community Rangers monitoring illegal logging. Prey Lang is one of Asia's last remaining lowland evergreen woodlands.

Members of the Prey Lang Community Rangers monitoring illegal logging. Prey Lang is one of Asia's last remaining lowland evergreen woodlands.

Chainsaws confiscated from loggers in the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary.

Chainsaws confiscated from loggers in the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary.

Confiscated rosewood in the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary. The trade in rosewood, prized for high-end furniture in China, is outlawed througout the world, but a network of corrupt Cambodian businessmen and officials is engaged in a lucrative, black-market rosewood trade.

Confiscated rosewood in the Phnom Tnout Phnom Pok Wildlife Sanctuary. The trade in rosewood, prized for high-end furniture in China, is outlawed througout the world, but a network of corrupt Cambodian businessmen and officials is engaged in a lucrative, black-market rosewood trade.

A Malaysian-run logging operation in the ostensibly protected Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. The government has sold concessions to national and international companies, giving them permission to clear the “protected” forests of Cambodia.

A Malaysian-run logging operation in the ostensibly protected Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. The government has sold concessions to national and international companies, giving them permission to clear the “protected” forests of Cambodia.

A worker at the Chup Rubber Plantation in Kampong Cham, Cambodia. Cambodia exported 282,071 tons of rubber last year, mainly to China, Singapore, and Malaysia, bringing in earnings of $377 million.

A worker at the Chup Rubber Plantation in Kampong Cham, Cambodia. Cambodia exported 282,071 tons of rubber last year, mainly to China, Singapore, and Malaysia, bringing in earnings of $377 million.

A cashew nut plantation in the Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary. Most of the sanctuary’s land has been sold by the government for agricultural concessions.

A cashew nut plantation in the Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary. Most of the sanctuary’s land has been sold by the government for agricultural concessions.

A burning field in the Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary, in northern Cambodia. Beng Per is a sanctuary in name only as most of the land has been sold by the government for agricultural concessions and rubber plantations.

A burning field in the Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary, in northern Cambodia. Beng Per is a sanctuary in name only as most of the land has been sold by the government for agricultural concessions and rubber plantations.

This photo project was supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.